Audre Lorde and Survival; Praise and Morality; Ask The Philosopher
A review of a new biography of Audre Lorde, an event with Jules Holroyd and Hallvard Lillehammer; our monthly Ask The Philosopher event
Dear all,
It’s been a disheartening kind of a week, but I think all of us at The Philosopher just plan to carry on (roughly) as normal, continuing in our goal of addressing worldly issues that can help us make (ever so) slightly better sense of things, as well as more esoteric issues that can help divert us from the mayhem. Some things, after all, do have a timeless quality to them, and as we contemplate them the brief cycles of global political affairs can feel a little less weighty, even if only for a bit. Helen De Cruz’s recent book on wonder comes to mind.
We open the newsletter today with a review of Alexis Pauline Gumbs’ new biography of Audre Lorde. It seems like a good time to ask of our present moment: what would Audre Lorde do?…
Your Sunday Read
“Inheriting the Poetry of Survival”
Caleb Ward reviews Survival Is a Promise: The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde by Alexis Pauline Gumbs
“When I speak of survival, I mean living intact, living with focus, not merely existing”
Audre Lorde
As Caleb Ward argues in this review, “[p]erhaps [Audre] Lorde’s central concept hyphenated across her living is survival.” For Lorde, we need to reflect on, talk about, and examine survival with whatever tools are at our disposal. You can read Caleb’s review here.
Monday Event: 11am PT/2pm ET/7pm UK/8pm CET
“The Morality of Praise”
Jules Holroyd with Hallvard Lillehammer
In this event, Jules Holroyd and Hallvard Lillehammer will explore the idea that praise can be as harmful as blame. They will introduce us to cases of oppressive praise, using them to develop a diagnosis of when and why praise is oppressive, and an account of praise that focuses on its function in affirming and entrenching values within a community. This role of praise is essential to understanding moral appraisal as a social practice, one that can contribute to social hierarchy and oppression. You can find out more and register here.
Ask The Philosopher: A Philosophical Chat
Tues. 19th Nov. @ 10am PT/1pm ET/6pm UK/7pm CET (90 minutes via Zoom)
Why am I here? Am I free? Do I have a soul? How do I know things about the world? Does my dog love me? What is a question? Is ignorance bliss? Should we ban billionaires?
Join us for the latest in this series of philosophical chats with our Editorial Team. Bring your biggest philosophical questions and we will try our best to offer some engaging responses.
This will be a fun, informal conversation. No experience of philosophy is required. And it’s free. Find out more and register here.
Ending
The Philosopher is unfunded and directly relies on your support to keep doing the work we do. The best way you can do this is becoming a supporter via Patreon, if you’re not already. This helps us to keep our events series free and to pay our contributors. Find out more and become a member.
Anthony Morgan
Newsletter Team